Procurement: Celebrating a successful business day in China
What is expected of you when you are the “Guest of Honour” for a dinner engagement after a long day of business activities?
Dinner is an important part of the Asian culture. It is a time when everyone gets together and shares good food, spirit and stories. The same goes for a business dinner however it is also a time for the company to show its appreciation. The Chinese are proud of their culture and their food and they like to take this time to show and share the diversity of country’s culinary best. It is also a very good time for the management of a company to share the experience and reward many of the junior staff in an organization for the long hours they work with an opportunity to break bread with international guests.
It is customary for the highest ranked company official to select the restaurant, the menu and the type of alcohol for the celebration. For most westerners, they are not accustomed to having such a large number of dishes presented to them to share as a group. As the guest they generally are instructed as the first person to select samplings from each dish. This can be a difficult decision because many of the foods displayed are generally not parts of an animal, bird or fish that we would consume. The big question here:
What do I do?
The rule of engagement in this situation is that it is important that you select from each dish and sample the food. It is considered an insult to refuse a dish if you have not tried it but once you have and you say that you dislike the selection, this is considered to be acceptable. This will carry with you in any future entertainment functions with this group and as a guest you will not be sending the wrong message.
The consumption of alcohol is also a big part of the celebratory meal however this custom has changed a lot over the decades. Even in China drinking and driving is a serious offense that is handled with more serious stricter consequences than here in North America. “Gambei” or “Bottoms Up” is the traditional style of drinking alcohol. It does not matter whether you are drinking, wine, spirits or beer, only that the size of the glass being used can change. Moa Tai or some derivative (rice wine) is the Chinese favorite alcohol consumed at any celebratory function. It is very strong and to most of us it taste very bad and leaves an aftertaste that seems to linger for days. As is expected with the food, drinking the wine is usually expected and after a few drinks and little bit of the food you get used to the taste (or you think you do).
Another practice at the celebratory dinner is for someone to inform you that the senior guy is usually the heavy drinker and he can out-drink everyone one at the table. This is to prepare you to challenge the big boss as they make westerners feel like maybe you can challenge the big boss for his position as the top dog in this area. It is important to realize that this is usually a ruse to get you to drink more and be the entertainment. When the setup is being arranged, the big boss is not there, only the more junior personnel. It is their job to get you started with the drinking challenge with them and to gambei (bottoms up) as often as possible. This is where you must be careful because it is customary to accept the gambei (bottoms up) challenge every time someone asks you. What must be recognized here is that there is usually only yourself or one or two more people from your group in attendance. You are usually significantly outnumbered and this is a planned situation as everybody there will toast you individually. The result is that if they have ten people at the table and only one of you then you are consuming ten times the quantity of alcohol long before the big boss arrives.
How do I get myself out of this mess you say?
There is only one acceptable thing that you can do when this custom is set in motion. Since it is customary to accept the toast it is also a proper response to ask that all participants at the table to join you in the toast. The first time the hosts will assume that this response was a fluke and that when it happens again they will recognize that you know and understand the customs and the drinking will be reduced significantly. Most importantly, when the big boss arrives he will be advised of what has happened and the challenge for top dog for alcohol consumption will most likely not even be undertaken. Remember…. the top dog has not consumed any alcohol by this time and he expects that you are probably half in the bag when he arrives. Imagine his disappointment when he cannot make that claim, so it is in his best interest to avoid the whole thing and enjoy the evening in a more relaxed and sober environment.